The discussions and recent agreement to change the College Football Playoff format from the current 4-team format to a 12-team format can shake up the college football world in many areas. Belive it or not, these changes can impact the future of bowl games and hospitality.
With the format still years away, everything will remain mostly the same for now, but the main concern for the future is how bowl games will be impacted. Bowl games are already suffering with the current format due to potential NFL prospects deciding to sit out. This creates less competition, less viewership, and less enthusiasm.
Even though this would allow more teams to compete for the ultimate goal, it would also decrease the importance of bowl games more than now. The new format would call for a more intense and different schedule, and many of the smaller bowl games, especially those in cold weather locations, would struggle to survive the change.
All of this creates turmoil internally for college football programs and their coaches. There would be added pressure for coaches to make the Playoff and compete within a 3-year window, creating more change within the universities as well.
Another area of change would be the hospitality aspect. Brandon Parks and Paul Sickmon both emphasized how vital hospitality is for potential clients because it is an experience for them.
As Parks mentioned, “There are degrees of experiential opportunities."
This means that depending on a client and their interests, their experiences might be tailored differently. Universities and partners want to give the best possible experiences to strengthen that relationship. Some of those opportunities might be a facilities walkthrough with access to be on the field during a game or watching practice as Parks mentioned.
The experiences can be very different from one client to the next, but regardless of what they do, the main goal is to strengthen the relationship and give them their own experiences that they will remember.
Overall, with the coming changes in college football, there will be further attention to the safety of bowl games and many other aspects of college football, such as hospitality.
To learn more about the bowl games and hospitality listen here.